Easy Magic (Boudreaux #5)

“That must have been traumatic,” Mal says.

“My mama had me in therapy for a couple of years,” I confirm. “I kept asking for her, and didn’t understand why she wasn’t coming back.”

“That’s an awfully young age to learn about death.”

“Indeed. I hope Liselle isn’t suffering.”

Mal pulls out of my arms and looks to my left, then smiles softly.

“She says she’s not suffering, but that she’s waiting to move on because she wanted to apologize to you, and tell you that she loved you.”

I nod and feel my throat close up with the flood of emotion that’s suddenly sitting on my chest.

“She has nothing to apologize for. She didn’t do anything wrong. She should move on and be happy.”

And then, just like that, my chest is light again, and Mallory takes a deep breath and glances about, then smiles up at me. “She’s gone.”

“Good.” I take Mal’s hand in mine and lead her into the bedroom, leaving the French doors open so the salty sea air can drift inside. “Are you okay?”

“I’m actually just fine,” she replies with a smile. “Almost energized.”

“Really?”

“Mm hmm,” she says and begins unbuttoning my shirt, her fingers moving slowly but surely down my torso until she reaches my pants. “You made some promises earlier.”

“Promises? I don’t remember making any promises.”

I love it when she gets flirty.

“There was some strong flirty language,” she says and pops the button on my fly, then lets my pants pool around my ankles.

“That’s a promise?”

“Oh yeah.” She takes my already throbbing cock in her fist and pulls up, then down, firmly gripping me. The breath hisses through my teeth as I sink my fingers in her hair, careful not to force her to me, but needing something to grab onto. “I’m fond of this.”

“So glad you approve,” I mutter, then let my head fall back as she licks me, from balls to tip, then wraps those fucking sexy lips around me and proceeds to give me the best blowjob of my goddamn life.

“Jesus, Mallory.”

“Hmm,” she purrs, and it’s almost enough to make me explode. Her hands, working me over firmly, and that mouth wrapped around me is the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.

But I want this to last.

So I grip her by the shoulders and bring her to her feet, spin us around, and guide her down to the bed.

“I wasn’t done,” she says with a pout.

“Unless you want this to be over before it really starts, I had to stop you, sugar.” I pull her skirt up around her waist and just about swallow my tongue when I see that she’s not wearing panties.

“I ditched them earlier,” she says with a sassy smile, as if she can read my mind. “What with you making promises and all.”

Her sassiness both delights me and makes me want to slow things down a bit, draw it out longer.

Make her writhe in pleasure.

So rather than plunge inside her and have my way with her the way I want to, I kiss her exposed navel, then bite the soft, slightly rounded flesh beneath it. Mallory isn’t stick thin, and I prefer her this way.

She wears her curves like most women would wear a fancy gown, proudly and confidently, and it’s fucking sexy as hell.

She’s comfortable in her skin, which makes me comfortable too.

I can’t stop touching her, dragging my fingertips up and down her sides, over her hips, and to that smooth apex of skin just above the promised land.

“You’re so damn good with your hands,” she moans and bites her lip as she grips onto the quilt on the bed to anchor herself.

I’d much prefer she grab onto me.

Slipping my fingers through her slick lips, I bury my face in her neck and kiss her, then bite the sensitive skin just below her ear.

“Shit,” she whispers, then contracts tightly around my fingers, almost making me lose control.

I want to fuck her. Hard.

“Please,” she pleads, raising her hips off the bed.

“Please what?”

“Inside me.” She grips my cock, and I can’t hold back any longer. I let her guide me to her, and slip just the head inside.

“Look at me.”

She opens her violet eyes and watches me avidly as I sink balls deep and brush a lock of hair off her cheek.

“You’re beautiful, Mallory.”

She bites her lip again, unable to reply as I begin to move in a long, slow rhythm, taking us both on the ride of our lives.

“And this? This moment, this woman. All of this is mine.”

Her eyes widen in surprise, and then she cups my face sweetly in her hands.

“It’s ours,” she says with a smile and tightens around me, almost making my eyes fucking cross.

“Yes, baby, it’s ours.”

***

“The Hemingway house was fantastic,” Mallory says the next afternoon as we sit on lounge chairs under a cabana, lazily watching the water. “I had no idea there were so many cats.”

“He was the original crazy cat lady.”

She smiles over at me and my heart catches.

“I don’t think they were all his. They’ve reproduced quite a lot since his day.”

“True.” I reach over and take her hand in mine, kiss her knuckles the way I always do, then rest our hands on my thigh. She’s enthralled with watching the water, and I’m enthralled with watching her. She’s in a black two-piece suit, a matching cover thing, and her hair is in a ponytail, high on her head.

She looks young and vibrant and happy.

And fuck me, she makes me so happy I hardly recognize the feeling.

Because I’ve never felt it before. I’ve always been dedicated to my family and my business, and women were a fun distraction from time to time.

And now I can’t imagine my life without her in it.

I’m love with her.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” she asks.

“Like what?”

“Like you’re not quite sure what to do with me.”

I snicker and gather my wits about me. “I’m not quite sure what to do with you.”

“Oh, you knew exactly what to do with me last night.”

Her smile is sexy and fun, exactly like last night. It was fun and sexy.

“True. But I was just wondering if I should feed you.”

She tips her head to the side. “I could eat. The sea air makes me hungry.”

“We have water in New Orleans.”

“It’s the river,” she says with a shrug. “It smells, looks, sounds different. Although, you’re right. I’m always hungry at home too. As you can see.” She holds her hands out to the side, gesturing to her curves, and then laughs.

“You look perfect to me,” I reply honestly.

“Well, good,” she says. “Let’s go in and eat.”

“I could run in and put something together, then bring it back out here.”

She thinks it over, then stands and holds her hand out for mine.

“I’d like to go in out of the heat for a bit.”